\[Elise's POV\]
“ELISE!”
Rosco's booming voice startles me from a light doze, ruining any semblance of sleep I may have gotten after shifting around for hours to get comfortable.
Grumbling, I begin to move again, searching for the perfect spot so I can take a cat nap before breakfast is served.
“Elise!” He repeats, finally reaching my cell.
“Sorry, Elise isn't home right now; please state your business and then go away.”
“Don't you dare fucking play with me right now.” Rosco growls, grabbing my bars and making them groan. “You better fucking answer what I'm about to ask you.”
“Is that how you speak to a woman?” I ask, prying one eye open to look at his rage-filled face.
“I would hardly say you're a woman.”
“Really?” I giggle, opening my other eye and getting to my feet. “Would you like to see whether or not I am?”
As I speak, I move forward, and when I'm inches away from Rosco, I hook my fingers in my pants, preparing to remove them.
“Make one more move, and I'll fucking kill you.” He warns, his voice dripping with promise. “I don't give two shits if you're Denali's family or not.”
Smirking, I don’t move as Rosco’s angry gaze stays locked on my face.
“But I wanted to prove to you that I’m a woman.” I sigh, releasing my pants. “However, I assure you, last time I checked, there is in fact a vagina beneath my pants.”
“I don’t give a damn what is under that.” Rosco growls, his eyes flashing. “I didn’t come here for this bullshit.”
“No?” I say, feigning confusion. “Then why in the world did you come here when you were more than ready to get rid of me last night?”
For a moment, he doesn’t speak, clearly taken by surprise over what I said. However, it doesn’t take long for him to recover and narrow his gaze on me.
“I’m here because of what you were saying last night.”
What I was saying. Did that mean that something happened to Serenity? No. If it did, then this place would be in an uproar.
Keeping my expression neutral, I examine Rosco’s face, trying to find some sort of sign toward what exactly it was he wanted with me. Did he just remember what I was saying and want to pester me about it? Not hardly. As angry as he was, there was clearly something wrong.
“You said that there may be danger because of my daughter.” He begins when I don’t speak. “You better tell me everything you know.”
Opening my mouth, I prepare to feign ignorance, but remember that if I wanted to keep my niece and family safe, I needed to cooperate.
“You actually care about that now?” I ask, crossing my arms. “Last night, you didn’t want to hear a thing.”
“I’ve said it already,” Rosco snarls. “I’m not in the mood for your shit. You better fucking tell me what you know; otherwise, I’ll make you tell me.”
“Man, how does my sister put up with you?” I sigh, shaking my head. “She’s so sweet and caring, and you’re so...”
“Information,” he snaps, letting his alpha aura press against me. “Now!”
‘This bastard!’ Anna growls, coming to life over his attempt to make us bow. ‘Doesn’t he know that he isn’t our alpha?’
‘He’s worried about his child,’ I tell her. ‘Honestly, this is better than him beating the shit out of me by this point.’
‘You’ve gotten soft,’ Anna huffs, letting her annoyance slam into me.
Rolling my eyes, I focus on Rosco once more and begin to deflate.
“Will you allow me to speak and not try to kill me this time?” I ask, taking a seat on the ground. “Or will you snap the minute you hear something that you don’t want to?”
“I…” He begins, but stops as he takes a calming breath. “Tell me what you know.”
Nodding, I let the images from my vision the previous night come racing back. Immediately, my stomach churns, and a chill races down my spine.
“First, I have a question for you.” I say, trying to make sense of the one detail that left too much of a mystery. “Does your family bear any type of curse?”
I vaguely remembered the leader of those cloaked freaks speaking of a cursed child, which meant that whatever it was they were referring to came from either mine and Denali’s bloodline or Rosco’s. But since I knew absolutely nothing about my family, there was no way for me to know whose it was.
“A curse?” Rosco repeats, furrowing his brows. “Why the hell would you ask that?”
“Because it will help us with answers,” I snap, growing annoyed at his stubbornness. “I…” I continue, realizing that this would be the first time I ever spoke about having visions.
In the past, I kept it a secret out of fear of someone trying to use me because of it. Some good that did me though, since in the end I let Alexander use me under the guise of love.
“I can see things,” I say slowly, letting my biggest secret into the world.
“See things,” Rosco repeats in confusion. “Like the future?”
“Something like that.” I sigh. “I don’t have control of what I see or when, but when it happens, I usually take things seriously.”
“And since you’re telling me this, does that mean you saw something involving Serenity?”
“That’s right,” I admit. “And that is why I must know if your family bears any sort of curse. If they do, I suggest you get to the bottom of it before Serenity is of age to wed.”
“Otherwise what?” Rosco asks, his expression growing angry. “What the hell will happen if I don’t?”
“Then there is a chance that she will be taken away by something dark and sinister.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Rosco barks while tugging on the bars of my cell once more. “Do you really expect me to believe the shit you’re spewing right now?”
No. I didn’t expect him to believe anything. If I were in his position, I wouldn’t believe it either. But since he came to me looking for answers, I knew that somewhere deep down he knew that I was speaking the truth.
“The ball is in your court now, brother-in-law.” I shrug. “I’ve told you what I know.”
“Do you have any proof of what you’re saying?” He snaps.
“I think you’ve already seen the proof since you came looking for me.” I point out, earning myself a growl. “Now it is up to you to figure out where this curse came from and why.”
“Not only me,” he says quietly. Taking me by surprise. “Since you’re the one who had this supposed vision, you’re going to help as well.”
“Me?” I squeak, shock rolling through me.
“And a select few others that I’d trust with my life.” He smirks. “Prepare yourself.”
“Prepare for what?” I demand, jumping up. “What the hell are you planning?”
“Your intensive training, of course,” he chuckles. “Since I must stay here with Denali and Serenity, the investigation is up to you. You wanted to atone for your sins and prove that you've changed, right?"
"I...." I begin but stop. Dammit he had me.